Yeah, Carp actually deserves a massive pat on the back for the Batum talk during the summer. Some people suggested Carp was overrating him. Batum has looked good on both ends. The Blazers have a very solid core in Lillard, Matthews, Batum, and Aldridge. They just have no depth right now, and Aldridge is a bit hurt. They are a few depth singings away from being a tough out in the playoffs, assuming Lillard continues to grow as a PG.

I wasn't sold on Batum in RFA with the amount of money he was looking for at the time. Blazers were going to match so it would have taken giving him something close to the max to get the Blazers to back off. But in hindsight, that would have been a good move for us.